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German Industrial Firm Pfisterer Is Said to Mull Frankfurt IPO

A high voltage electricity transmission tower on the outskirts of Chisinau, Moldova, on Wednesday, Nov. 9, 2022. Moldova has been scrambling to find new sources of power since mid-October, when Russian missile strikes in Ukraine took out the substations providing almost a third of Moldova's electricity imports. (Andrei Pungovschi/Bloomberg)

(Bloomberg) -- Pfisterer Holding SE, a German manufacturer of high-voltage cable insulators, is considering an initial public offering in Frankfurt next year, according to people familiar with the matter.

The family-owned company is working with advisers including Commerzbank AG and Berenberg on a potential deal, said the people, who asked not to be identified because the discussions are private. 

A listing could take place as soon as the first half of 2025 and value the group at as much as €500 million ($524 million), said the people. Pfisterer may target raising about €150 million in the IPO, one of the people said.

Deliberations are at an early stage, and details of the potential offering could change, the people said. 

Pfisterer is examining options to fund its growth, “including the possibility of an IPO,” the company said in response to a Bloomberg News query, adding it’s in contact with banks and hasn’t yet finalized a valuation.

“We currently assume that we will be able to provide further guidance of our considerations in spring 2025,” it said.

A representative for Commerzbank declined to comment, while Berenberg didn’t immediately respond to requests for comment. 

Pfisterer’s plans for a potential listing will help fuel momentum for a broader revival in IPO-activity in Europe next year. While first-time share sales have already staged a modest recovery in 2024, volumes have yet to return to historical levels amid the threat of potential changes in trade and foreign policies under a Donald Trump administration.

Companies have raised about $19.6 billion in IPOs on European exchanges so far in 2024, an increase of 35% from the same period last year, according to data compiled by Bloomberg.

Pfisterer, based in Winterbach near Stuttgart, was founded more than 100 years ago by the eponymous Pfisterer family. It employs more than 1,200 people and has five production sites globally, according to the company’s LinkedIn profile.

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